Entries in advocacy
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IT IS TIME FOLKS!Especially if you are from the Front Range, the time is NOW for you to act and help support the momentum to build out cycling-specific facilities (including CROSS baby!) at Valmont Park in Boulder. The response from the City Council from various groups and citizens has been very good.

OK, so where are we at...and what can YOU do? Let me break it down this way.

GIMME THE BACKGROUND. The City of Boulder is collecting public comments to shape the futureof Valmont Park. Your input will help determine if cyclocross andmountain biking are part of the plan.

Valmont City Park is a 132-acre chunk of land located on Valmont Roadin Boulder. The city is drawing new plans for the park after theoriginal 1998 plan failed to be implemented. During the past year, agroup of cyclists have rallied under the umbrella of the BoulderMountainbike Alliance to encourage the city to include off-roadriding like cyclocross, mountain biking, and a terrain park in the plan.RAD! I'M IN! HOW CAN I HELP?The city has now released 3 versions of the plan for public feedback.These are concept plans only, and include a whole laundry list ofpotential facilities, from soccer fields to tennis to arts and more.The good news: 2 of the versions include a mix of cyclocross trails,singletrack, and bike terrain parks.

Now is time for the public to speak up. You can help by lending your strong voice!It's essential to let city officials know that you support cycling atValmont.

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO...AND IT'S EASY!

1. Talk DIRECTLY to the City Council and submit your comments and take a survey on the city's websitehere.

2. When commenting, use the talking points at the end of this post below. Be sure to use your own voice and highlight any personal experiences you've had.

3. Forward this blog post!!!. Rally your friends and ask them to echo your support for cycling.

4. Attend one of the upcoming public meetings (listed on city's website) to review the plans, ask questions, and log your comments.

5. Check out the park blueprints and see the schedule for public open houseshere.

6. Join our long-term effort by becoming a member of the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance. Go to:http://boa-mtb.org

7. The deadline is Oct. 31, 2007.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to give your feedback!

------TALKING POINTS FOR YOUR COMMENTARY BACK TO THE CITY COUNCIL-------Talking points you can stress in your comments back to the City:

* I support support cycling at Valmont.

* Create an interconnected system of purpose-built mountain biking and cyclocross trails that includes a variety of trail styles to meet the needs of a wide range of riders. These trails can be available for skiing and running too.

* Locate all cycling facilities adjacent to each other in a linked system of loops. The bike terrain park should be located nearby.

* Seek the input of professional trail designers and local riders to craft the final design.

* Maximize hills: The cycling trails and bike terrain park should make maximum use of existing and/or constructed hills.

* Don't put streets through the park.

* Build it as soon as possible.

--Additional Information

Our goal, working in partnership with the City of Boulder Parks andRecreation Department, is to build and maintain a permanent off-roadcycling facility at Valmont City Park. Intended for mountain biking,cyclocross, dirt jumping, BMX, and other off-road riding and racing,the facility should consist of an integrated network of natural-surfaced trails, a mountain bike/BMX terrain park, a start/finishvenue, and appropriate trailheads. The exact location and design ofthe facility is flexible and should be developed by a team ofcommunity stakeholders, city staff, and professional consultants.

We intend not only to advocate for this vision, but also to provide apermanent partner to the city and to share in the long-termstewardship of the facility.

Cycling facilities at Valmont would be of benefit to thousands ofBoulder’s residents, not to mention cyclists from outlying areas likeLongmont, Louisville, Broomfield, and beyond.

Most importantly, it would provide a safe location for kids to learnabout cycling, participate in clinics, and even get started with racing.

We hope to create a compact yet varied collection of trails and openareas to appeal to off-road riders of all ages and all abilities. Thefacility would be open to the public on a daily basis, but also offerpre-scheduled closed-course racing, race training, instruction, andother events. The project could be developed in phases, startingsmall and growing as resources allow.

The concept of off-road cycling facilities at city parks is a growingtrend. Variously known as bike parks, bike skills parks, or adventureparks, these playgrounds are popping up all over—and riders lovethem. There are more than 30 purpose-built public bike parks in theU.S. and Canada, and this figure doesn’t include privately owned bikeparks or bike facilities at ski resorts. In Colorado, different typesof bike parks have been built in Fort Collins, Eagle, ColoradoSprings, and Gunnison.

By Ryan Morgan Camera Staff Writer

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Open house

The Parks and Recreation Department will host an open house to discuss plans for Valmont City Park between noon and 2 p.m. Sunday at Eben G. Fine Park, 101 Arapahoe Ave.

Photo by Marty Caivano

Members of the Boulder Parks and Recreation Department's youth football league, including coach Jeff Cantrell, foreground, practice at Valmont City Park on Monday evening.

The future shape of one of Boulder's largest undeveloped parks is in the mail.

The city's Parks and Recreation Department has sent out 2,000 surveys asking residents what they'd like to see happen at Valmont City Park, a 115-acre parcel that sits at the intersection of Valmont and Airport roads in northeast Boulder.

Parks officials say they'll use the survey responses, along with input from the public at several open meetings over the next few weeks, to draw up a new plan for the park, which they expect to present to the City Council early next year. Eventually, elected officials would take the plan to voters to ask for the money for the project, which could easily cost $50 million.

The survey asks residents to outline their preferences from among 15 options, including an indoor recreation center, lighted tennis courts, a dog park, a single-track mountain biking course and an 18-hole disc golf course. The final plan will likely include a combination of those 15 options.